Family Law regulates the way that couples deal with their finances and family arrangements. It guides separating couples on how to divide their assets and what arrangements to put in place for their children. Family law can also provide protection for victims of abuse within their family relationships.

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Fixed Fee Divorce Services from E J Coombs Solicitors

Our fees our outlined below and a summary is also available in printable (PDF) form here

We offer a fixed price divorce for both petitioner and respondent if the following apply:

The divorce is undefended (i.e both parties agree), and

The court accepts the grounds for divorce (this is usually the case), and

The UK courts have jurisdiction to deal with the case and it is agreed that the divorce should be dealt with in the UK.

If these do not apply, we can still act for you but we may need to agree a different fee with you due to the extra complexity of the case.

Please note that a “divorce” is a legal process to dissolve a marriage and any discussions about finances, children, property etc are dealt with separately and are not included in the divorce fixed fee.

What's included

The process is slightly different depending upon whether you are initiating the divorce process (the petitioner) or responding to the other party’s request for a divorce (the respondent). However in all cases your case will be dealt with by one of our expert family law solicitors. Your solicitor will meet with you to discuss and collect all the relevant information, liaise with the other people involved (your spouse and their solicitor for example) and complete all the forms and paperwork. Your solicitor will keep you informed on the progress of your case and discuss any issues that arise.

With these fixed fees we ask for half of our fee plus the court fee in advance with the final half of the fee payable upon the decree nisi being issued.

Divorce - Petitioner

The process involves

Preparing a form called a ‘petition’ which sets out the grounds for the divorce

Where appropriate, agreeing the contents of the petition with your spouse

Preparing a notice informing the Court we are representing you

Considering your spouse’s response to the divorce petition

Preparing a statement in support of your petition and an application to ask the court to proceed with the divorce

An application for the decree absolute

Notifying you of each step in the process

We will conduct this work for the following agreed fees

Our Fee

£750

VAT

£150

Total

£900

In addition to this there is a court fee payable to HM Courts and Tribunals Service which is set by the government. This fee is currently £550.

The total costs including VAT and court fee therefore is £1450

Divorce - respondent

The overall process for responding to a divorce is broadly similar, except that you are largely ‘responding’ to paperwork generated by the other party. The process involves:

The other party generates the petition which your solicitor will discuss with you and explain any implications

We will produce a form called an “acknowledgement of service” which confirms that you have received the petition and do not wish to object to the divorce.

Once a date is set for Decree Nisi, we will inform you and provide you with a copy of the Decree Nisi once received from the court

We will receive the Decree Absolute (the document which legally ends the marriage), check it and forward it on to you.

We will conduct this work for you for the following fee:

Our Fee

£500

VAT

£100

Total

£600

There are no court fees paid by the respondent.

What's not included

As stated above, these fees apply to the divorce process only. Any negotiations or court action regarding finances, children or domestic abuse are subject to a separate process and charging structure.

Although we are confident that almost all uncontested divorces can be conducted for the fees quoted, occasionally unexpected issues crop up in the middle of a case. If this arises, we may need to review our charges but we will always discuss this with you before taking further action.

NB: as a respondent you may be asked to pay some or all of the legal costs of the petitioner. We will advise you if a claim for costs is made against you and agree a response with you. Any disputes arising between parties on this issue is not included in the fixed fee and we will agree a separate fee for this work.

Telephone

01245 221699

01277 286499

Email

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